Riebiro and Dagenais

Again tonight Ribeiro is playing with Zed and Hossa and Dagenais is plating with Perezhogin and Higgins I believe...We all thought they would at least try Ribs and Dag on the same line at least once, what's up with that ? Maybe they try Zed-Ribs-Hoser once more to see if it was just a coincidence they clicked well together and try Ribs-Dag if it doesn't work out tonight ?

Or maybe CJ just doesn't like what Dagenais is showcasing so far... We all know they would like to play with each other and tore up the juniors together but this is the NHL and the fact that Ribeiro is soft, slow and weak defensively and Dagenais is soft, slow and weak defensively just doesn't cut it these days at elite level. I saw Dagenais play against the Bruins and aside from his blistering shot, he has nothing going on for him. Yeah he's big but is reluctant to use that size. I don't beleive they're a good match unless they can rack up the goals which I highly doubt. Of course there's still time for that experiement but if Dagenais can't prove he belongs without Ribs, then he won't get his chance. Although some have labeled Hossa as lazy, I think he plays well since the start of training camp and is bringing much more to that line than Dagenais could ever IMO.

Apparently Julien intends using Hossa-Ribeiro-Zednik as a fixed unit during the season and wants to give them experience playing together. Those three played as a line toward the end of last season. In the Boston and Ottawa games Julien experimented with a number of combinations because he has no preconceptions about Perezhogin, Higgins, Ferland, Plekanec, Dagenais, and a few others. As a right wing, Dagenais would have to win a job ahead of Ward and Ryder, and that's unlikely. As a left wing, he would also face stiff competition. His best chance would come if there are injuries to several players.

I also think that CJ likes the chemistry that existing at the end of the season between Hossa-Ribs-Zed which is really starting to look like a potential regular season line in the making. Clearly from their play in the Boston game, that line still has some chemistry.

As Munchausen mentioned, the Ribs-Dags chemistry goes a little farther back, as it occurred when these guys were 16 and 17 years old. The modern day Ribs needs good NHL ready players on his wing to make him look good...is Dags there yet?

Again tonight Ribeiro is playing with Zed and Hossa and Dagenais is plating with Perezhogin and Higgins I believe...We all thought they would at least try Ribs and Dag on the same line at least once, what's up with that ? Maybe they try Zed-Ribs-Hoser once more to see if it was just a coincidence they clicked well together and try Ribs-Dag if it doesn't work out tonight ?

I didn't along with several others. Why wont they play together? Speed. Both are slow very slow. Maybe Ribs has gotten faster from last year (he can't get any slower) but watching the two of them on a line together would be painful as they try and bring it up the ice.

Maybe put them together on the PP, but I'd hate to see 2 slow guys on the game line.

The only rationale for putting Dagenais on Ribeiro's line is to give Ribeiro greater protection than he'll get from Hossa or Zednik when the Domis of the league start to abuse him. Ribeiro is relatively helpless against rough play.

The only rationale for putting Dagenais on Ribeiro's line is to give Ribeiro greater protection than he'll get from Hossa or Zednik when the Domis of the league start to abuse him. Ribeiro is relatively helpless against rough play.

You won't get protection from Dagenais. I actually think Ryder or Ward would have been a better fit on that line. Dagenais is soft and has 0 toughness. He's a gentle giant, a poor man's Eric Daze (correction: a broke man's Eric Daze).

Pierre Maguire says Ribeiro is garbage- not a good sign- Maguire says Ribeiro would not even be a 4th liner on the better teams :mad:

Ok I retract my comments ! I get the picture guys, I just wanted the eye candy that I saw with my o wn eyes 6-7 years ago...

And also Pierre Mcguire is an anti-habs, full of shi*, Pro-Toronto/Tsn clique bogus reporter. I consider ANYTHING he says as not even worthy of being replayed on my tv, or for that matter in these boards.

McGuire is the only analyst on tv or radio that has an opinion about what happens on the ice. He descibes the game at a coaches/scout level. He is not a homer, only liking his home team. That would be very unprofessional as a journalist.

He likes teams that are well structured and well coached. He never, ever was pro-Leaf. Listen with your ears, not your anti-Toronto heart (I hate TO too)

It seems that you rather have drama queens like Bergeron (and 110% gang), Rejean Tremblay, Jack Todd, the guys on CKAC or that clown Chantelois. They never ever describe what is happening on the ice. They are more interested in soap opera storylines that pit english vs french, or player vs coach.

If it is anti-Habs to say your opinion on Ribiero, an opinion which is backed by years as a hockey professional (coach, scout, analyst), then I will check my passport, I didn't think that we were in 1970's USSR.

McGuire is the only analyst on tv or radio that has an opinion about what happens on the ice. He descibes the game at a coaches/scout level. He is not a homer, only liking his home team. That would be very unprofessional as a journalist.

He likes teams that are well structured and well coached. He never, ever was pro-Leaf. Listen with your ears, not your anti-Toronto heart (I hate TO too)

It seems that you rather have drama queens like Bergeron (and 110% gang), Rejean Tremblay, Jack Todd, the guys on CKAC or that clown Chantelois. They never ever describe what is happening on the ice. They are more interested in soap opera storylines that pit english vs french, or player vs coach.

If it is anti-Habs to say your opinion on Ribiero, an opinion which is backed by years as a hockey professional (coach, scout, analyst), then I will check my passport, I didn't think that we were in 1970's USSR.

I couldn't agree with Joe Cole more. I have met, spoken and had a couple of beers with McGuire a number of times, and he is not anti-Hab. He felt that Habs management were completely incompetent in the Ron Corey/Rejean Houle era, and felt that Vigneault and Therrien in particular were poor coaches, but he did not and still does not hate the team itself. He grew up in Montreal as a huge Habs fan in the 70's, and he knows quality when he sees it and knows garbage when he sees it too.

I find McGuire tells it like it is and is a pretty astute judge of a team and its players. He also knows and has known Ribeiro for a long time and is aware of his off ice activities and character, as well as his on ice development or lack thereof. Ribeiro and Eric Chouinard have the distinction of being the only two players I can remember that were actually benched during a game in the World Juniors. The coach of that team was Claude Julien, for those who care to remember.

Good teams don't have Mike Ribeiro as their #2 centre. If I am proven wrong after this season, I will admit it and take the heat. But I don't think that will be necessary, somehow.

I've heard Mcguire alot and I enjoy him more on radio than television, as he seems a little more natural. I get the impression that he is all about loyalty. He gives the Melnick show preferential treatment because he got his first media exposure on his show. Thru that exposure he got Habs radio work for a few years. He has a degree of loyalty to the Habs but his job is to tell the truth, he is aware of the team's shortcomings and knows how they came to be. If he doesn't answer a question honestly when asked, he loses credibility and that's his meal ticket. He'll never say a bad word about Lemieux as they have a relationship from his Pittsburgh days. He praises Bowman in the way as they are old friends. Honestly, though, what's to criticze, they are amongst the best ever at what they do, or did. I find him refreshing to listen to as he has no agenda, or none that I know of.

Again tonight Ribeiro is playing with Zed and Hossa and Dagenais is plating with Perezhogin and Higgins I believe...We all thought they would at least try Ribs and Dag on the same line at least once, what's up with that ? Maybe they try Zed-Ribs-Hoser once more to see if it was just a coincidence they clicked well together and try Ribs-Dag if it doesn't work out tonight ?

Just a note.

Ribs and Dagenais played together on the one minute 5-3 against Toronto yesterday. They didn't manage one shot and were all over the place, failing to get a play together and put any pressure whatsoever on Centomo (in net).

Later they had a few nice passes to one another near the net - you could kind of see where all the junior praise was coming from - but nothing really came of it.

Saying Ribeiro is garbage isn't Mcguire's term. He did run down his game badly on Monday though, only to speak well of him on Tuesday. To me, it's still wait and see, he does some things well, just not enough. We'll see soon enough. My gut feeling is that he'll play well enough to cause "I told you so" posts all over the board and then fade as the team gets better. I sort of see him as a good, bad team player.

I didn't get to watch much of the game last night, but I do recall seeing Dagenais throw a pretty good open-ice check. It wasn't devestating, but it was an indication that he's willing to throw his weight around a little. For those of you who saw the whole game, would you care to comment about Dagenais' play? I concur with others in this thread, that he's more likely to start in Hamilton, and perhaps if he excels he'll get a chance to replace an injured forward.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyboutHabs

Again tonight Ribeiro is playing with Zed and Hossa and Dagenais is plating with Perezhogin and Higgins I believe...We all thought they would at least try Ribs and Dag on the same line at least once, what's up with that ? Maybe they try Zed-Ribs-Hoser once more to see if it was just a coincidence they clicked well together and try Ribs-Dag if it doesn't work out tonight ?